


Blake's Cafe

by commandreclarke



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-01
Updated: 2015-08-09
Packaged: 2018-04-12 11:09:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4477070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/commandreclarke/pseuds/commandreclarke
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Raven was fine with being alone, really. Until a pretty, blonde barista wrote a note on her coffee cup and all bets were off. Princess Mechanic Coffee Shop AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It’s not like Raven Reyes really needed coffee that morning. Mostly, she was just trying to avoid Octavia. 

“O, there is no way in hell you’re dragging me to one more of those things,” Raven had said.

“‘Those things’ are parties. Parties are what normal people like to go to and have...what’s the word again... fun!”

“I can have plenty of fun without some booze-oozing loser trying to slur his way through a pick-up line. Do you wanna know what was said to me last night? Do you?”

Octavia rolled her eyes, “It couldn’t have been that bad.”

Raven barked a laugh, “Okay, I’ll use it on you. Let me know if it works.” She slouched her shoulders and breathed heavily from her mouth, pretending to take a swig from an invisible cup.

“Hey girl,” Raven said in a faux-deep voice, leering at Octavia, “if I followed you home, would you keep me?”

“No way,” O giggled. 

“I told that assclown that if he followed me home I’d take him down into my basement and I’d leave him there until the flesh rotted off his putrid bones,” Raven smiled, “I’m still really proud of that.”

“It seems fair,” Octavia nodded, “but this still doesn’t mean that you’re allowed to swear off parties! Lincoln already told me about one of his friends is throwing tonight. I said we’d both be there.”

“I’ll tell him I’m sick. He would totally understand,” Raven said, starting to get desperate. 

“Ray. You are going. We are going.”

“But once we get there you always ditch me and then I hang out by the door for a few hours until it’s time to drive your wasted ass home. That’s not fun in any way, Blake.”

“Socialize, then! Meet someone hot, do something crazy. Live a little, Reyes!” Octavia said, shaking Raven’s shoulder. 

“The pick-up line dude is a prime example of the kind of people our dear Lincoln hangs with. There’s nobody there for me.”

“Ugh,” Octavia waved her hand, “like you’d even approach a hot girl if you saw one there.” Raven smacked O’s hand out of the air. 

“I know we’ve had this conversation at least six times and I feel like I’ve made enough solid points to get out of this,” Raven headed for the door, “I’m getting coffee.”

“Come home soon so we can pick out outfits for tonight!” Octavia called after her.

Raven turned in the doorway, “Tonight I’m gonna sleep in the gutter outside a bar. Be back never.”

“Raven Reyes, you better get back here before tonight or I swear-” 

Raven quickly shut the door to their two-bedroom apartment and hurried towards the elevator before Octavia could come chasing after her with a pair of stilettos or, God forbid, anything sequined. 

Once she was outside, her worn leather combat boots practically flew over the pavement as Raven rushed down the front steps of their apartment building and began walking along the sidewalk. She didn’t have a set destination, but it was Greenwich Village. She’d run into a coffee shop sooner or later. 

The hustle and bustle of the city eased her nerves as she moved along. She’d always loved it in New York, and when Octavia needed a roommate after college, Raven had been all too eager to move in. The girls had only graduated together about a year ago. Octavia liked to, well, reminisce. Raven was glad to forget frat guys, beer pong, and anything else having to do with trashy partying. Of course, she’d only had to endure those things because of Octavia, who wasn’t as excited to leave them behind. Raven had always admired O. She was strong as hell and didn’t take shit from anyone. She just really loved to have a good time.

And she also believed that her idea of a good time was the best. Raven had fun. Plenty of it. Working at the auto body shop with Lincoln was fun. (Curse her for ever introducing him to O. The mutual friends she’d had to endure since then were almost all cringeworthy.) Walking around the city was fun. Not being trapped inside a sweaty apartment surrounded by sweatier men was also very, very fun.

Alas, it was just Raven’s luck that the only person more stubborn that she was happened to be her best friend. And while she’d rather be meeting pretty girls who were into mechanics, those were apparently in short supply. Not like Raven had seen much action on the pretty girl front lately. O teased her about her perpetual singleness constantly. 

“I just haven’t met any girls I like lately,” Raven always said. Octavia would grin that know-it-all grin and say, “We live in New York City, Reyes. Go up to a pretty girl and ask for her goddamned phone number, you big baby."

Trying to clear all thoughts of her remarkably pushy best friend from her head, Raven spotted a sign advertising coffee up ahead.

 _Blake's Cafe_ , it read. _Fucking Blake's cafe,_ Raven thought, _the universe better not be trying to send me a sign right now._

Despite the name’s unfortunate reminder of Octavia and the party, the storefront looked quaint and cheery and the shop didn’t seem overcrowded. Raven shrugged and pushed open the glass door. 

The inside was nice, with mint green walls and old wooden floors. Beautiful paintings of landscapes, still lifes, people, and basically everything in between decorated the walls. Raven glanced around as she walked through the seating area of small, scattered tables. Dark leather sofas were pressed against each wall.

The shop was relatively busy, since it was about eleven in the morning. The line behind the counter wasn’t too long, so Raven stood at the end of it and tried to ignore her phone, which was buzzing with texts that had a 100% chance of being from Octavia. She’d been too busy glaring at her shoes to pay any attention and was soon surprised to find herself at the front of the line.

“Hello, what can I get for you?” a woman’s voice asked.

Raven whipped her head up to look at the barista. _Holy shit._

Standing behind the counter was probably the most beautiful girl Raven Reyes had ever seen. Her wavy, blonde hair was falling around her shoulders in an artfully messy way and her navy v-neck had flour stains on it despite the apron. She totally wasn’t looking at all (how dare anyone imply otherwise), but this girl was definitely in shape. You asshole, stop checking her out, Raven chided. Her eyes flitted up to her lips, which were contorted into a frown. Her big, clear blue eyes were staring straight at Raven. _Wait, why is she looking at me? Wh- oh my God._

Trying desperately to recover from what she assumed would go down in history as the single most awkward moment of her life, Raven quickly racked her brain.

“I-I’d like, I mean, I’m going to- I’d like to get, I’ll, I will have some, uh, coffee.” What did I just say? 

She tried again, “I’ll have a small mocha, please.” _Why couldn’t you just do that the first time?_

The barista’s eyebrows had basically disappeared into her hairline at this point as she took the money from Raven’s outstretched hand.

“Coming right up,” she said, a small smile creeping onto her face. 

Raven just nodded and walked away from the counter, silently hoping that the burning in her cheeks would engulf her entire body and turn her into a pile of ashes so that she could blow away in the wind and never speak to another pretty girl ever again.

 _I don’t know how yet, but this is Octavia’s fault,_ Raven thought, running her hands through her ponytail and vowing never to leave the apartment again. She didn’t have very long to wallow in her own embarrassment. 

“Small mocha!” the barista’s voice called. Raven rushed toward the counter to grab the cup, eager to get out of there. 

“Enjoy,” the blonde said with a grin. 

“Thanks,” Raven replied, offering a tight-lipped smile before turning around and heading out the door.

She took a swig of the hot coffee as she started walking back towards home. Looking down at the cup in her hands, she noticed loopy writing near the lid.

**Next time you should just ask for my number -Clarke**

Underneath the message, there was a sketch of a coffee mug. Raven’s face broke into a huge grin. 

_Woah, I guess sometimes awkward staring works. Who knew?_

~

Raven definitely had some regrets about what happened after that. She’d rushed home and practically sprinted up the stairs, throwing open the door. 

“Octavia!” she called, heading through the den and down the hall towards her friends room. O was laying on her purple bedspread and using the computer. She shut the laptop as soon as Raven entered the room and opened her mouth to no-doubt deliver some sort of lecture.

“O, shut up and listen.”

“I didn’t say anything!”

“Shh, just listen.”

Octavia rolled her eyes, “Oh, my God, I’m listening. What is so urgent?”

Raven smirked and handed O the empty coffee cup. A few seconds passed before Octavia sat straight up, wide-eyed. 

“Tell me everything.”

After she relayed the story of the barista’s unfair hotness and Raven’s unfair lack of game, O was silent.

“No freaking way,” Octavia whispered to herself.

“Wait, what do you mean? Yes freaking way. Do you really have-”

“Raven,” Octavia said, “what was the name of the cafe?”

“Uh, Blake’s Cafe. Why?”

“That’s Bellamy’s shop! Do you realize what this means?”

“Well, that Bellamy has a coffee shop,” Raven answered, getting confused. Which really did happen a lot when she talked to Octavia.

“You’ve never taken me there, but with the name of the place I guess I should’ve figured. So what’s the big deal?” Raven asked, still trying to understand. 

“Relax, not a big deal,” O ran her hands through her hair, practically vibrating with thinly veiled excitement. 

She grinned at Raven, “I just have some people to call.”

~

“Uh, I’m supposed to be at work right now.”

“Bellamy! Please focus,” O said.

They were all gathered in Octavia and Raven’s living room. Raven never ceased to be amazed by the powers of Octavia and also her friends’ constant lack of something better to do.

“Why are we here again?” Lexa asked from her perch on the arm of Lincoln’s chair. Lexa was Lincoln’s cousin and she’d only moved to the city a few months earlier. Lincoln had introduced her to their group, who took an immediate liking to her.

“Oh, my God. Last time I’m saying it, people.” Octavia stood in the middle of the overcrowded room. 

“So,” O began, “I’ve gathered you here to discuss an extremely important issue. Friends, lovers, total strangers who have no idea what’s happening,” she gestured towards Miller, “our perpetually single Raven has met somebody.” Jasper jumped up and started high-fiving anyone who’d let him; only stopping when Murphy threatened to end him. 

“Who?” Lexa asked. 

“A barista wrote a note on my coffee cup this morning. That’s literally the whole story,” Raven sighed, dropping her head into her hands, “I’m still not sure why O made all of you come here.”

“Me either,” Miller spoke up from where he was leaning against the wall.

“Miller,” Octavia sighed dramatically, “you work with Clarke, the hottie barista. Right?”

He shrugged, “Yeah, we both work at Blake’s Cafe.”

“Well then you’re crucial, dude,” Jasper explained. Murphy nodded solemnly. Miller still looked vaguely confused and also a bit freaked out.

“They want to find out everything about Clarke and scare the poor girl away before I get the chance to even have a conversation with her,” Raven told him.

“It’s true,” Monty piped up, “they did it with this guy I met last year.”

“O-okay,” Miller said, suddenly very interested in the floorboards.

“And it worked out beautifully,” Jasper said. Monty shook his head, “You guys creeped him out so much he made all of his social media accounts private and blocked each of you. I stood behind that decision wholeheartedly; Raven sent him nineteen pictures of Pepe the frog. Nineteen.”

Octavia waved her hand, “We do it because we care. Just like we are all here right now. Because we love you and want you to find happiness, Raven.”

“I’ve literally never met any of you,” Miller pointed out. “That guy,” he gestured to Murphy, “grabbed my arm while I was walking and dragged me here. He said he was a friend of Bellamy’s and that there was an emergency.”

Lexa answered him, “Clearly, this _is_ an emergency.”

“Thank you, Lexa!” Octavia said, “Now, we have to make a plan.”

Raven sunk lower in her seat, only hoping that this wouldn’t involve too much embarrassment for her. She wasn’t very optimistic about that.

~

“I’d just like to say that I genuinely hate each and every one of you,” Raven announced as the gaggle of friends (and Miller) made their way down the sidewalk.

“Same,” said Murphy. 

“You’ll thank us later!” Octavia yelled from her designated spot at the front of the group.

“Nathan told us that Clarke’s shift doesn’t end for another two hours. It’s lunch time right now, so that’s a totally valid excuse for the all nine of us to go to this place,” Monty said.

“She is going to make a mad dash for the door if you idiots swarm her,” Raven grumbled.

Lincoln put his arm around her, “I think she’ll love all of us.”

“Even if she does,” Raven raised her voice, _“I still hate all of you! _Even you, Miller. I’m sure you’re going to do something stupid sooner or later.”__

__Monty laughed at Miller’s face, “She doesn’t mean that. She’s just totally nervous because she’s about to see the hot barista.”_ _

__“I am not nervous! I just think that this plan is ridiculous. Octavia, are you listening? This isn’t even a plan. You’re just taking all of us to the coffee shop where she works. Zero planning went into this.” Raven couldn’t see O rolling her eyes, but she knew it was happening._ _

__“The best grand romantic gestures involve spontaneity; we’re winging it,” O said._ _

__Lexa shrugged, “I’m still confused about why you need all of us here to do this.”_ _

__“Me too,” Bellamy said, “I told you I should be at work.”_ _

__Murphy leaned his head back and sighed dramatically, “Lexa, we are here for the entertainment. And Bellamy, we are literally en route to the place where you work. Shut up.”_ _

__The group continued to banter as they walked along in all of their loud and obnoxious glory. Raven stayed quiet, cursing them all in her head. Maybe if I get hit by a car on the way there I can get out of this impending humiliation._ _

__“There’s the shop,” Bellamy pointed. Octavia began the slow process of herding the group towards the small storefront. _God, if you’re out there, please send down a lightning bolt and kill me,_ Raven pleaded as O opened the door._ _


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all of the positive feedback on this story! And a special huge thanks to my wonderful beta, Abbey (flowermorley on tumblr).

Clarke leaned into the counter, yawning. She couldn’t wait for her shift to be over so she could head home and get some rest. She had three commissioned paintings to finish, but she was making enough progress on those that she could afford a nap. She pushed her hair behind her ears and cracked her knuckles, figuring she’d count the register money to kill time before the lunch rush.

Clarke never got the chance, though. The door jangled open and she saw a brunette try to direct a group of people into the shop. Clarke heard one of them yell, “Murphy, we know that you’re bored, shut the fuck up!” 

If that didn’t get the blonde’s attention; the pale, dark haired boy trying to climb a telephone pole definitely did.

 _“Jasper!”_ the brunette hollered as she slammed the door shut and walked back outside, where the group was watching his progress. “We’re on a goddamn mission. Do not make me come up there after you!”

“O, I’m getting a bird’s eye view of the place,” the boy called down to them. Clarke was impressed; the guy was actually nearing the top. 

“We’re going inside, you imbecile,” a voice yelled. Clarke’s eyes widened. She thought she recognized the voice, but she couldn’t be sure. She decided to try and ignore the ruckus outside, but quickly gave up as the screeching from the brunette grew louder. 

“Jasper, I am not afraid to scale this thing and throw you off. Get down!”

Clarke couldn’t hear his response as she watched the boy slide down the pole and land heavily on the sidewalk, quickly righting himself. He whispered something to the thin Asian kid beside him, who looked torn between laughing and smacking him.

The gaggle of people turned towards the storefront, the brunette leading the pack. Once again, she pushed open the door, this time holding it open and making sure that everyone got inside.

A split second later, Clarke realized whose voice it was that she had recognized. The cute girl with the mocha from that morning was being practically shoved into the shop by the guy behind her. _Wait, is that Bellamy? Miller? What’s going on?_

Most of the tables were taken, but that didn’t slow the group down as eight of them piled onto one three-person couch. The mocha girl tried to sit to, but no one would let her.  
The blonde looked on in absolute fascination at the group. A fair skinned girl with curly, light brown hair was perched on the back of the couch with her legs under her. The brunette was sitting in the lap of this seriously ginormous dude on the left cushion. Bellamy was planted in the middle, looking vaguely pissed off. Miller had opted for the arm of the couch. A really pale guy was sitting on the other arm, glaring at nothing in particular. The Asian guy was on the cushion next to Miller. And for whatever reason, the guy who braved the telephone pole was laying across all of their laps.

_What is even happening right now?_

Clarke couldn’t be sure of it, but she thought she heard somebody whisper something that sounded mysteriously like, “get your gay ass over there Raven.” 

~

Raven Reyes didn’t consider herself a spiritual person. Nevertheless, in that moment she was praying to every deity in the sky to send down some divine intervention and get her out of this. Clearly, her asshole friends weren’t going to let her sit down and definitely weren’t going to let her leave until she talked to Clarke. 

Trying to wipe the death glare off her face, Raven turned around and walked toward the counter. Clarke was standing there with wide eyes and a barely concealed grin.

“Hello,” Raven said, glad that she hadn’t stuttered.

“Hi,” Clarke replied, a full-fledged smile stretching across her face. 

_I’m so fucked. Okay, let’s make this suave._

“My name’s Raven and I want to ask if I could maybe have your number?” _Nice._

“My name’s Clarke and I want to say absolutely.” Clarke pulled a pen from behind the register and wrote on an old receipt. She handed it to Raven and gave her a smile. Raven couldn’t keep a grin from creeping onto her face.

“Awesome,” she said, “and by the way, I’m really sorry for what’s about to happen.”

“Wait, what do you mean?”

“I’m gonna try to get them out of here with minimal casualties but it won’t be easy.”

Clarke burst into a fit of laughter, “Your friends?”

Raven smiled back at her, “I’m being dead serious. When I was interviewing at the auto-body shop, they all waited in Bellamy’s car across the street and Monty brought a flying drone so they could know what was happening. An honest-to-God drone. You could hear it buzzing outside the window.”

“Oh, my God,” Clarke was only laughing harder now, and Raven felt her smile get bigger at the thought that she had made that happen. Clarke wiped her eyes and leaned over the counter toward Raven. She put her mouth near Raven’s ear and whispered, “So, what’s the plan? I’m in.”

Raven bit her lip and cast a look over her shoulder at the couch. They were all sitting in complete silence, not even pretending like they weren’t staring at that point.

“Well, there are only a few you really have to watch out for. We just met Miller but he doesn’t seem like the type to cause a scene. Murphy just doesn’t care. Bellamy has to stay here anyway. His sister Octavia, the brunette, she’s the kingpin. Must watch out for her,” Raven said.

“Wow, so you’ve definitely done this before,” Clarke giggled.

“Herded these assholes out of potentially humiliating situations? That’s definitely a yes.” She smiled back at Clarke, whose face was still dangerously close to her own. She didn’t really know how to react with Clarke looking at her like that, so she just kept talking.

“Lexa, Lincoln, and Monty are always really chill. Unless there’s any sort of fighting involved, then Lex is your girl. Same goes for Monty and technology. The horror stories I could tell you about those two during Black Friday at Best Buy.”

Clarke still hadn’t stepped back. Her smiling eyes met Raven’s and she said, “I’m sure I’d enjoy that. I’ll just have to see you again, if only to hear those stories.”

Raven smirked, “I suppose you just might.”

“Okay, so who else are we worried about?” Clarke asked, now thoroughly entertained by this group.

“Jasper. Fucking. Jordan. Also known as the dumbass who climbed the telephone pole,” Raven sighed.

“Okay, so how are you going to do it? Just tell them it’s time to leave?” 

Raven nodded, “When I tell them that I got your number and that we’re leaving, there may be some, uh, noise.”

Clarke took a step back and Raven tried not to feel disappointed. The blonde put her elbows on the counter and placed her chin in her hands.

“Good luck, Raven.” The way her name sounded in Clarke’s voice did nothing to help dissipate the butterflies in Raven’s stomach. 

“Hopefully I’ll see you soon, without my loyal herd of idiots,” Raven grinned.

“I’d like that.”

Before she could say something stupid and ruin it, Raven turned around and walked towards the eerily silent couch. Eight pairs of eyes stared at her expectantly.

“I got her number and it’s time to…” The rest of Raven’s sentence was drowned out by Jasper jumping off everyone’s laps and yelling “yoooo” while he ran around to high-five the confused customers.

Octavia started cheering and Lexa gave her a slow clap. Murphy reminded everyone that he didn’t care.

“Okay, it’s time to leave,” Raven raised her voice over the noise. She could hear Clarke’s soft laughter and tried to keep her glare in place as she gripped Jasper’s arm tightly. 

“Jasper,” she whispered, “shut the fuck up.”

Bellamy got up and ruffled Raven’s ponytail.

“See you guys later and please don’t let Jasper climb anything inside the shop,” he said.

“My shift’s about to start,” Miller announced as he stood up to leave.

“See you later, Nathan,” Monty said.

Raven whispered to Jasper, whose arm she still had in a deadly grip, “Something’s obviously going on there, why aren’t we all focused on them instead?”

Jasper patted her shoulder with his free hand, “Sweetie, because Monty has enough game to work it without any help.” 

“Ugh, be quiet. O! Could you help, maybe?” Raven asked, seeing that she wasn’t making much progress.

“Relax, we’re coming,” Octavia answered as she stood up.

After some bitching from Murphy, everybody was on their feet. Raven turned around to see Clarke still standing behind the counter. She gave the blonde an awkward goodbye wave before opening the door and making sure everyone got outside. The group started walking back to O and Raven’s place.

“You know,” Lexa spoke up, “I think all of us should get a matching tattoo of today’s date. The day Raven actually asked a girl for her number.”

“Shut up.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for the lovely reviews on the first 2 chapters! I love hearing feedback, so feel free to connect with me on tumblr at commandreclarke. Also, another shoutout to my awesome beta, Abbey! (who is now haelblake on tumblr) I hope you all like this chapter, it's definitely my favorite so far!! (:

Raven couldn’t stop smiling the entire day. She knew because everyone kept reminding her that she looked like a loser and needed to cut it out.

“Raven, what the fuck are you doing? Just call her,” was Murphy’s way of showing he cares, she decided.

“I can’t call her yet, obviously. It hasn’t been long enough. There’s some sort of unspoken rule, O knows it.”

“You have to wait twenty-four hours!” Octavia yelled from the kitchen.

“That’s true!” came Lexa’s voice.

Raven raised her eyebrows and shrugged, silently pointing out that there was no point in fighting O on this.

Only Murphy, Jasper, and Lexa were still there. Lincoln’s friend’s party was in about two hours and Raven hoped that if nobody mentioned it she wouldn’t have to go.

Octavia entered the living room, Lexa and Jasper on her tail with arms full of snacks.

“Not that I don’t mind you guys eating all of our food, but don’t you have anywhere to be?” she asked. 

“I’m off today and Costia is at her parents’ place until next week,” Lexa said.

“My shift at the bar doesn’t start until nine,” Murphy answered, snatching a bag of chips.

Jasper shook his head, “I literally have nothing better to do right now. Does anybody else wanna light firecrackers and throw them down the garbage chute with me?”

_“Jasper.”_

Raven sighed, wishing that she didn’t have to wait so long to talk to Clarke. She barely knew her, but Raven did know that there was something about the blonde that she liked.

“Maybe I could just send her one text…”

Murphy groaned, “You have absolutely no game, Reyes.”

“Oh, because you’re such a ladies man. When that girl Emori came into the bar last month and asked for a drink, you nearly spilled it on yourself.”

He scoffed, “First of all-”

“Wait!” Octavia shrieked, interrupting Murphy’s comeback.

“What is it?” Lexa asked.

“Where’s Jasper?”

Raven and Murphy exchanged looks of panic before he spoke for all of them.

_“Oh my fucking God.”_

~

Well, the silver lining was that Raven didn’t have to go to the party. After a very close encounter involving the loss of Jasper’s right eyebrow, O had basically given up on being in charge for the day.

She’d mumbled to herself phrases like “I swear to God I’m surrounded by total dumbasses” and “I can’t fucking do this anymore today” and Raven’s personal favorite, “I’m actually friends with somebody who got stuck in a trash chute, holy hell.”

After about half an hour, Octavia was flying out of the house in all her sequined glory, yelling hasty goodbyes over her shoulder. 

“Give Lincoln some sugar for me!” Murphy called after her, earning a smack on the head from Lexa.

~

By 9:30, Raven was the only one left in the apartment. She was trying to distract herself by watching the F.R.I.E.N.D.S marathon on TV, but her mind kept drifting back to Clarke.

_One text wouldn’t hurt anybody,_ she decided, reaching for her phone. She pulled up Clarke’s number. She reminded herself that this was the part where she was supposed to type something, anything. 

Sighing, she sent a text to Bellamy instead. 

**How late does ur cafe stay open?**

After about a minute, she got a response.

_24/7. Idk if this relevant but Clarke is working until 11_

**Do u think getting coffee goes against O’s code??**

_C u soon Reyes._

She groaned, figuring that technically this wasn’t calling Clarke. Ergo, no codes were being broken. She ran into the bathroom to make sure that she looked halfway decent and then headed for the door, pulling on her red leather jacket as she went.

~

Clarke sat on a stool behind the counter, plotting murder. Specifically, the murder of Nathan Miller. She owed him for covering her shift last week and that night he’d asked her to return the favor. She really had been looking forward to getting some rest that day.

Miller hadn’t given her much in the way of an explanation, but Clarke had her own assumptions. When he’d called to ask her to work that night, he’d been deliberately vague about his plans. 

“I’m just going to, uh, spend time with a, uh, a person,” was all she got out of him.

“Have fun and make sure you ask him about his drones,” she said before he hung up on her.

Clarke understood the benefits of being open twenty-four hours a day, but it sure was boring when you only had about five orders to fill every hour. Maybe if she worked at a Starbuck’s, she’d be busier. But Clarke liked Blake’s Cafe. Besides, a Starbucks wouldn’t let her cover their walls with her old paintings.

Ten minutes Ten minutes of Clarke doodling on disposable cups went by before the bell over the door rang, signaling that she actually had a customer. She raised her eyes towards the door and almost dropped her marker.

It was _Raven._

Their eyes locked and Clarke felt a flutter in her stomach. She’d kept her phone on full volume all day, just in case Raven decided to call. Not that she expected her to, due to the unspoken twenty-four hour code. Then again, the girl didn’t really strike her as the type to do things by the book.

She walked right up to the counter, looking much less nervous without eight people on her tail.

“Hi. So, I’m back,” she said with a small smile.

“I see that,” Clarke replied, returning the smile, “Can I get you a mocha?”

Raven licked her lips (which Clarke definitely wasn’t looking at) and said, “No thanks.”

The blonde couldn’t help but smirk as she raised an eyebrow, “Then do you have a different reason for being here?” 

“You know, cafes aren’t just known for their coffee. Sometimes they have scones, muffins, wildly attractive baristas; plenty of other reasons to visit one.”

Clarke silently cursed the blush creeping up her neck. She was in the middle of racking her brain for a witty response when a deep voice interrupted her.

“Raven!” 

_Bellamy, oh my God,_ Clarke groaned internally.

He stood next to her stool and grinned at the two of them. Clarke thought he looked suspiciously like a proud parent. 

“Hello, Bellamy. Did you need something?” she asked, shooting daggers out of her eyes. His smile only got bigger. 

“Oh, I just thought I’d take over your shift. You seem like you could use a break. Maybe go out. You know, on the town.”

_If that smile doesn’t crack his face in half, my fist sure will._

Despite his total and utter lack of subtlety, Clarke _did_ appreciate his intentions. Before he had time to reconsider his offer, Clarke’s apron was being tossed at him. She grabbed her jacket off the hook on the wall and walked to the other side of the counter. The blonde looked at Raven.

“So,” Clarke said, “do you wanna go on a date with me?”

~

It only took Raven about two seconds to make sure that this was, in fact, real life. Once she got over her worries that this was a daydream she was quick to respond.

“Yes, I do,” she said, a grin slowly taking over her face.

Clarke beamed at her and walked toward the door, gesturing for Raven to follow. Casting one last look over her shoulder before they left, Clarke called out, “See you tomorrow, Bell!” as she shut the door behind them.

_Be cool, Reyes. Be cool._

Raven turned toward Clarke, meeting her gaze. 

“So, where are we going?”

“Oh, I have an idea,” Clarke said, a smile playing at the edges of her lips (which Raven was definitely not looking at).

Raven was about to ask what exactly this idea of hers was when Clarke surprised her by linking her arm with Raven’s so that they were pressed together side by side. A cold gust of wind blew and Raven subconsciously (okay, maybe it was kind of consciously) moved in closer. The blonde smirked before starting off down the sidewalk, pulling the other girl along with her. 

They walked for a while, chatting about nothing in particular. They talked about their jobs and friends, though neither one of them brought up family. Both women found themselves laughing and smiling and just genuinely enjoying themselves more than they had in a really long time. 

Raven hoped she could just keep walking like this forever; under the lights of her beloved city, on the arm of a girl that made her feel some indescribable kind of happiness that she had almost forgotten. The brunette was melting into Clarke’s side, slowly getting lost in the gentle rhythm of their footsteps.

Suddenly, Clarke stopped whatever she was saying (something about blending acrylic paint, Raven thought) and turned abruptly. They were facing a black storefront with a bright red door. Raven raised an eyebrow, casting Clarke a skeptical look. The streetlights illuminating the building made Clarke’s grin easily visible as she said, “Trust me.”

The arm that wasn’t still linked with Raven’s reached out and opened the door, tugging a baffled brunette over the threshold. They stepped inside and Clarke nodded discreetly to the man standing by the entrance. He moved aside and Raven felt like they’d entered an alternate dimension. She gasped.

Everything was black. The glossy floorboards, the matte walls, the high ceilings, _everything._ Even the people standing around were all completely dressed in black.

The only color in the entire room was the art. Paintings, drawings, sculptures, and every other type of artwork imaginable was hung up on the walls or put on platforms. All of the pieces were lit from below. It created the strangest pull, like they were beacons that you couldn’t help but draw nearer to.

Not to mention, the art itself was breathtaking. Raven spotted life-size sculptures, unbelievably realistic portraits, paintings of city skylines and open oceans, still lifes of empty kitchens or dusty books, and abstract art in frames that stretched to the the ceiling. People were walking down dimly lit halls that surely led to even more art. Raven wanted to spend forever standing in that doorway, captivated by the intense beauty of it all. 

A gentle tug on her arm brought her back to reality. With wide-eyes, she looked to Clarke, who had been watching her with a soft smile. 

“Wha…what _is_ this place?” she asked.

Clarke bit her lip and her looked up at Raven through her eyelashes. She hesitated before giving an answer.

“This place is my, uh, studio.”

Realization sunk in and Raven’s jaw hit the floor. “This is your art? All of this?”

“Sometimes I’ll have people helping me out on really big projects, but yeah, it’s all mine.” As she spoke, Clarke looked uncharacteristically nervous.

Raven extracted her arm from Clarke’s and grabbed the blonde’s hand, intertwining their fingers. 

“It’s all so beautiful, Clarke.” The brunette couldn’t help but look around the room again.

Clarke watched Raven’s face and sighed. “Yeah, it really is.”

Raven turned back to Clarke and grinned, gripping her hand tighter.

“Okay,” she said, “I want to see it all.”

For the next two hours, Clarke and Raven ambled around the gallery. Raven asked every question imaginable and Clarke answered the best she could. Raven thought that Clarke looked surprised by her interest, which was crazy to her. Everything in the studio was spectacular, especially the overly humble artist. 

By around midnight, the place was empty. The pair had seen and discussed every single piece on display, and once they’d seen it all, they started talking about Clarke’s future projects. She’d explained that she was working on a few commissioned pieces after her mother had called to tell her that some of her friends wanted self portraits. She didn’t really enjoy that, but they paid well. 

At some point Raven asked her, “If your artwork is so successful, why do you keep the barista job?” Clarke shrugged and flashed her a smile. 

“I just like it. It keeps me busy, I get to see the Blakes, which is always a treat. I don’t know, it’s nice to feel like I’m doing something more than just making art all day. I want to be productive. Help people, even if it is just giving them coffee. Plus, sometimes really cute girls come into the cafe, so that’s always great.”

Raven laughed and lightly punched Clarke’s arm. 

“I get what you mean,” she said, “I like to feel like I’m working, accomplishing things. Keeps me sane.”

By the time midnight did roll around, neither of them noticed it. Raven had been telling a story about one night where she and Jasper had gone to a bar and he’d compiled a list of terrible pick-up lines to use on girls. 

“Clarke, some of ‘em were so bad. I’m not even joking,” she grinned at the giggling blonde.

“Okay, use one on me. See if it works.” Clarke dropped Raven’s hand and backed up, pretending to be a stranger.

The brunette bit her lip and looked around the room, racking her brain for the perfect line. Suddenly, inspiration struck and she fought to keep a neutral expression as she approached Clarke.

“Girl,” she said, leaning in close to the blonde, “I wanna make out with you in an art gallery, but they told me not to touch the masterpieces.”

Clarke smiled, leaning in until their noses were almost touching. Raven felt her breath hitch in her throat.

“Lucky for us, this is _my_ gallery. And we don’t have that rule here.”

The brunette’s response died in her throat as Clarke leaned in closer, softly brushing her lips against Raven’s. She felt Clarke’s arms snake around her waist, pulling her nearer as their lips met again. This time the kiss was less gentle, both of them pushing to get closer to the other. Her hands were tangling in blonde hair and the feeling of the wall against her back only surprised her for a moment as Clarke put her hands on either side of Raven, pinning her in place as she deepened the kiss. Raven’s arms wrapped around Clarke’s neck, pulling her in.

Raven had no idea how long they stayed like that, kissing and feeling in the darkened room. However, she vividly remembered the taste of Clarke on her lips and thinking that the artwork didn’t even come close to being the most breathtaking thing in that studio.


End file.
